Columbia Police Department (CPD) Chief W.H. “Skip” Holbrook is releasing a detailed analysis of the agency’s after-action review from two days of protests and civil unrest in May 2020.
The 92 -page document titled “Columbia Strong – A Critical Incident Review of the Columbia Police Department’s Response to Protests and Rioting,” outlines, among other topics, CPD’s actions/response, mutual aid from eleven law enforcement agencies, situational awareness, and internal and external communications from the events of May 30-31, 2020. The report also recognizes sound decision making from leadership, and the perseverance and selfless actions of courageous CPD officers.
In June 2020, Chief Holbrook directed staff to form a committee to conduct a critical review of the department’s actions/response in May. As a result, the diverse committee comprised of 12 men and women from CPD including the City of Columbia’s Directors of Emergency Management and Safety and Risk Management followed the National Police Foundation’s review model to help devise the document.
During a two-month period, the committee collaborated for the review process. A complete overview including deficiencies and recommendations for future improvement were presented to the Chief for assessment.
Chief Holbrook says, “This document allows us to maintain our commitment to agency accountability and transparency. We experienced unprecedented times in May. We didn’t have a playbook to reference. Our review of the actions has enabled us to highlight proficiencies and identify deficiencies while acknowledging mistakes. The lessons learned pave the way for us to make course corrections and good operational decisions in the future.”
Visit https://columbiapd.net/publications/ to view the Critical Incident Review.